Bus Stop
by simonjamesroger
Summary: Astrid is caught in the rain after a day of shopping, when a polite young man helps her out. Loosely based on the Hollies song of the same name. Hiccstrid, naturally.


Bus Stop

_Bus Stop, wet day_

_She's there, I say,_

_Please share my umbrella_

Astrid Hofferson huffed, holding the shopping bags tight to her body as the rain continued to pour on her head. Of COURSE the rain had to suddenly fly in from the south today. She really should have checked the weather before leaving the house; Berk had a tendency to be like this even on the best of days, and right now, in the middle of May, it was at its worst. Suddenly, she heard a voice to the side of her. "Hey, do you want to duck under here?"

She turned to see a tall young man with an auburn mop of hair and piercing green eyes. He was standing under a large umbrella, beckoning her over. She smiled at him. "Gladly." She slipped under the umbrella. "Thank you. I don't know what I would have done. I'm Astrid."

The young man nodded. "Nice to meet you. My name is Hiccup. So, what got you out in the rain today?"

Astrid smiled. "I went shopping. There were some sales going on, and I wanted to get some new clothes to replace things that aren't in good shape."

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow at her. "That seems like a lot for just a substitution run."

Astrid grinned sheepishly. "Well, it started as that, but then the jewelry store and the perfume shop had great sales too, and I couldn't help myself. Here, let me show you some of the jewelry." She put down some of her bags and started showing him the various pieces she'd picked up over the course of the day. They didn't realize how long they'd been talking until they realized that the bus was pulling away from them.

Hiccup stifled a laugh. "Hey, maybe we should pay more attention next time." She stopped showing him her haul from the day, but they continued to talk until the next bus arrived.

Astrid was smiling at Hiccup as he walked up to her at the bus stop. He was still holding the umbrella, even though it hadn't rained that day, an oddity for Berk. The two quickly began chatting again. "So, out shopping again?"

Her smile widened. "Sure am. Got myself some extra slippers for winter. What were you doing out and about today?"

"Oh, just work." Hiccup didn't say much more, so Astrid decided to pester him.

"What do you do, anyway?"

"I'm an civic engineer who works for a local company. I'm working on new plans for the bridge. You know how it always backs up traffic and keeps the busses from running on time? Yeah, it's my job to fix it."

She started a bit. "An engineer? That's some difficult work. I'm a bit surprised you ride the bus instead of driving a car."

Hiccup smiled at her. "Actually, my cousin is borrowing my car for a couple weeks so he can visit his girlfriend in Winchester. His is in the shop."

She simpered. "Tell me about it. Just a week ago, some jerk totaled my car and then had the gall to flirt with me. I punched his lights out."

Hiccup started laughing uproariously. Astrid gave him a confused glance, but once he calmed down he elaborated. "That would be my cousin. Snotlout is not only an idiot, but tends to make things worse for himself."

For the rest of the afternoon, Hiccup regaled Astrid with stories about his cousin's idiocy, and the two had a good laugh at his expense.

It was raining again, and this time Hiccup had forgotten to bring the umbrella. He and Astrid quickly ducked inside a nearby church. The young man started shaking water from his hair. "Well, lesson for me about forgetting to bring an Umbrella in town in Berk."

The two laughed before settling into a pew and falling into comfortable conversation. They were both drenched, and slowly they drew close to each other for warmth as they talked about nothing in particular. Before Astrid even realized it, she was practically sitting in his lap. Hiccup quickly excused himself and got up, and Astrid was afraid that she'd already ruined what had been blooming into a great friendship over the previous week and a half at the stop. However, he just went to a closet nearby and removed a pair of blankets. Once they were warm and a little further away, they set to talking again.

Astrid marveled at the young man again. He was sweet, gentle, and kind, and he seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say. Hiccup was definitely a blessing. At the moment, he was regaling her with the tale of how his father, a man she had heard was fairly large in stature, had been terrified of his thin, wiry grandfather coming over for Christmas dinner the previous year. "I mean, my dad has a foot and a half on my grandfather and could probably bench press him, but he looked absolutely terrified."

"Why was he so afraid of him?"

Hiccup chuckled. "My grandfather may be small, but he's a master at Aikido. My mom says he picked it up for self-defense, but dad is always worried he's going to use it on him if he does something to disappoint him."

The two continued to talk, and continued to draw close to each other. Without realizing it, they were soon just inches away again. Their conversation drifted off into a comfortable silence for several minutes, until the pattering of the rain on the roof let up. They found, however, that they didn't want to leave. They were too happy to be near to each other. Their conversation stopped and started for a few more minutes, and then they headed to the bus. When Astrid got to her stop, Hiccup got out with her. She smiled at him. "Thank you. I had a great time today."

Hiccup smiled back. "Anytime."

The two stood there for some time, just gazing at each other. Neither of them was sure who initiated it first, but they soon were kissing each other in the middle of the sidewalk. As they broke apart, Astrid looked at Hiccup with lidded eyes. "Let me give you my number. We can meet for dinner in a couple of days."

Hiccup smiled back. "Gladly, Milady."

Stoick the Vast was sitting next to his wife and beaming out the biggest smile anybody had ever seen. In the middle of the dance floor, his son and his new daughter-in-law were sharing their first dance as a married couple. Valka elbowed him in the side. "I'm glad he's found someone to share his life with, honey. But remind me, how did he meet her? I was out of town at the time."

Stoick's mighty laugh filled the hall. "They met at the bus stop near the mall. It was raining, and she forgot her umbrella."

The laughter of Hiccup's parents rang through the hall, but Hiccup and Astrid were to focused on each other to notice.

**_END_**


End file.
